Congressional Democrats on Wednesday failed to muster the two-thirds majority of votes needed to override the president's veto. The finally vote tally was 222-203. Afterward, President Bush hosted congressional leaders from both parties at the White House to discuss a new version of the bill. The question now is what President Bush and the Democrats are each willing to give up in order to strike a deal.

"Yesterday was a day that highlighted differences," Mr. Bush said. "Today is the day where we can work together to find common ground."

The solution, some congressional aides say, may hinge on the issue of benchmarks — goalposts of political progress that the Iraqi government would have to meet.

"You've asked me if there is an area where there's a potential common ground," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, "and I think benchmarks are a possibility."

Some congressional Republicans support such benchmarks, and the White House has been careful to leave the door open to that possibility. The key question, though, is whether those benchmarks would be binding. In other words, would there be consequences for the Iraqi government if it should fail to meet them?

Democrats appear to have public opinion on their side. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press showed that 59 percent of Americans want the Iraq war spending bill to include a timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal.

There is still time to hammer out a compromise, but not much: The Pentagon has the necessary funds to finance the war in Iraq until June.